Citizen&#39;s band radio antenna



Aug. 23, 1966 R. R. LINK CITIZEN'S BAND RADIO ANTENNA Filed Sept. 16,1964 INVENTOR.

RALPH R. LINK United States Patent "ice 3,268,897 CITIZENS BAND RADIDANTENNA Ralph R. Link, 2113 W. 23rd St, Little Rock, Ark. Filed Sept.16, 1964, Ser. No. 396,907 4 Claims. (Cl. 343713) This invention relatesgenerally to radio antennas, and more specifically to a Citizen's bandantenna for mounting on the top of a vehicle.

It is well known that when sending or receiving radio signals from avehicle, the power of such a signal is greatly influenced by theposition of the aerial in relation to the vehicle and the direction fromwhich the signal is being received or sent. Ideally therefore theantenna should be mounted on the top of the vehicle so as to beunaifected by the vehicle itself. My invention is directed to theprovision of an antenna which can receive signals from all directionswith equal magnitude and greatly increased fidelity.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to construct a radioantenna for vehicles suitable for operation on the Citizens wave bandwhich may be mounted on the top of a vehicle without cutting mountingholes and thereby damaging the vehicle roof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved Citizensband radio antenna which is completely insulated from the body of thevehicle and which is placed remotely from the ignition system so as toestablish minimum interference therefrom.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a radio antennafor vehicles which operates with equal efficiency in all directions, andwhich is of robust construction to give an improved performance withoutcausing obstruction during the normal use of the vehicle.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparentfrom the following more detailed description of a preferred embodimentthereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the radio antenna constructed inaccordance with my invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective fragmentary view showing the top of a vehiclewith the antenna mounted thereon.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side elevation of the central ball antennaand associated loading coil balanced for the Citizens band.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional plan view taken along the lines 44 of FIG.3.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views in the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numeral 5 represents theroof of a vehicle on which the antenna is to be mounted. The antenna isconstructed from a square aluminum plate 6 having a preferred dimensionof twelve inches by inch thick. Four cylindrical stand off insulators 7are secured to project beneath the four corners of the plate 6 and theouter ends of these insulators are capped with suction cups 8 whichshould be in the order of two inches in diameter. Four radials 9 aremounted to project one from each side of the plate 6 so as to beoriented at ninety degrees with respect to each other. The radials are/8 inch in diameter and 18 inches long. The radials are adjustablysecured to the top of the plate by short straps 10' which extend throughholes formed through the plate and are 3,268,897 Patented August 23,1966 selectively tightened by a nut on the underside of the plate suchthat the degree of projection can be varied so as to balance inresonance with the transmitter. Two straps 10 are recommended to secureeach of the radials.

Mounted centrally of the plate 6 is a square plastic insulator 11 havinga recommended dimension of four inches by /2 inch thick. A copper cap 12is secured to the end of a threaded stud 13 which extends through acentral hole 14 formed through the insulator 11 and the plate 6. Thelower end of the stud protrudes beneath the plate 6 and terminates witha threaded plug 15 which is secured by screws 16 to the underside of theplate. Projecting upwardly from the copper cap 12 is a plastic tube 17which forms an insulated coil form around which a loading coil 18 iswound in balance for 27 megacycles Citizen band. The upper end of thetube is capped by a similar copper cap 19 and the ends of the loadingcoil 18 are suitably secured to the two caps. Mounted on the top of theupper cap 19 is a chrome plated copper sphere 20 having a threaded boss21 projecting therefrom to engage in a central hole formed through thecap. This sphere is preferably about five inches in diameter and acts asan energy collector having a large surface area to aid in picking upweak signals and to generally improve reception. A plastic tube 22extends between the two copper caps 12 and 19 and performs as a weathershield for the coil. An antenna cable 23 terminates with a threaded plug24 for engagement over the plug 15 and the cable extends from this pointthrough any window of the vehicle to connect with the transmitter.

The many advantages afforded by a top mounted antenna have thus beenachieved without cutting holes in the vehicle top, and the design ofthis antenna greatly improves the operating efficiency over otherantennas presently known.

Having described the invention in a preferred form, it will beappreciated that some modifications may be made to the preciseconfiguration, without departing from the scope or spirit of theinvention, as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A radio antenna for mounting on the top of a vehicle, and comprising,a rectangular plate, tubular insulators secured to the underside of theplate, suction cups mounted on the end of the tubular insulators forsecuring the plate to the top of a vehicle, a flat insulator mountedcentrally on top of the plate, a copper cap having a stud projectingdownwardly through a hole formed through the flat insulator and theplate, a plastic loading coil tube upstanding from the copper cap, asecond copper cap secured to the other end of the loading coil tube, aloading coil wound around the loading coil tube and connected at itsends to the caps, a copper sphere mounted on the top of the "secondcopper cap, a weather sleeve extending between and over both caps toprotect the loading coil, an antenna cable removably connected to thestud, and four antenna radials mounted to the top of the plate toproject norm-ally from each side thereof.

2. A radio antenna according to claim 1, wherein said radials areadjustable in length and wherein the loading coil is balanced for the 27megacycle band.

3. A radio antenna according to claim 1, wherein the tubular insulatorsare secured beneath each corner of the plate, and wherein the radialsprojecting from opposite sides of the plate are in a spaced and panallelrelationship.

4. A radio antenna for mounting on top of a vehicle, comprising, arectangular aluminum plate, four tubular insulators secured beneath thecorners of the plate, suction cups removably connecting the ends of thetubular insulators to the top of the vehicle, four radials adjustablymounted at one end to the top of the plate and projecting normally fromthe four sides thereof, a flat square insulator mounted on top of theplate, a copper cap, a stud extending from the cap through a hole formedthrough the plate and the square insulator, a plastic loading coil tubereceived by the cap and projecting thereabove, a second copper capmounted on the other end of the loading coil tube, a loading coil woundaround the loading coil tube and connected at each end to the caps, acopper sphere mounted on the top of the second copper cap, a weathersleeve extending between and over both caps to protect the loading coil,and an antenna cable secured to the end of the stud.

No references cited.

HERMAN KARL SAALBACH, Primary Examiner.

R. F. HUNT, Assistant Examiner.

1. A RADIO ANTENNA FOR MOUNTING ON THE TOP OF A VEHICLE, AND COMPRISING,A RECTANGULAR PLATE, TUBULAR INSULATORS SECURED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THEPLATE, SUCTION CUPS MOUNTED ON THE END OF THE TUBULAR INSULATORS FORSECURING THE PLATE TO THE TOP OF A VEHICLE, A FLAT INSULATOR MOUNTEDCENTRALLY ON TOP OF THE PLATE, A COPPER CAP HAVING A STUD PROJECTINGDOWNWARDLY THROUGH A HOLE FORMED THROUGH THE FLAT INSULATOR AND THEPLATE, A PLASTIC LOADING COIL TUBE UPSTANDING FROM THE COPPER CAP, ASECOND COPPER CAP SECURED TO THE OTHER END OF THE LOADING COIL TUBE, ALOADING COIL WOUND AROUND THE LOADING COIL TUBE AND CONNECTED AT ITSENDS TO THE CAPS, A COPPER SPHERE MOUNTED ON THE TOP OF THE SECONDCOPPER CAP, A WEATHER SLEEVE EXTENDING BETWEEN AND OVER BOTH CAPS TOPROTECT THE LOADING COIL, AN ANTENNA CABLE REMOVABLY CONNECTED TO THESTUD, AND FOUR ANTENNA RADIALS MOUNTED TO THE TOP OF THE PLATE TOPROJECT NORMALLY FROM EACH SIDE THEREOF.